The LIN TV group and Time Warner have been having an ugly public battle over "retransmission consent" -- the fees cable companies pay for the right to carry local stations' broadcasts. LIN TV owns fifteen stations across a number of local markets, and the October 2 dissolution of their agreement came and went without a new deal, resulting in blackouts across the country, angry customers, over-worked technicians and a public shouting match.

"Most cable operators, like their satellite and telecommunications competitors, now understand and acknowledge that fair and equitable compensation is essential to ensure the viability of local television," said LIN TV’s President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sadusky in a statement back in September. "We look forward to negotiating with Time Warner so we may reach a deal with them before our contract expires." LIN wanted 20 cents per subscriber and obviously, that didn't happen.

Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt has been a pretty outspoken opponent of online video delivery, singling out major network online offerings as a particularly bad idea because it erodes the traditional advertising model. But with their relationship with LINTV on the rocks, Time Warner Cable has been ironically directing very annoyed customers (particularly sports fans) to those same offerings (see online video tutorial). Technicians we've spoken to say they're working fifteen hour days to try and keep customers happy.

"The loss of a local affiliate and one that contains the exclusive rights to the Home NFL team drove volume into the call center," says one tech. "Antenna's were purchased and distributed to customers who in many cases wanted help/advice to hook them up. Agents with no experience in hooking up antennas needed training and the wide range of TV's/ Hookups/Boxes etc meant that nearly every call was different." The coordinated distribution of stock and the new communications obstacles have proven a serious challenge, says the tech.

"We're working from our end to get them back on track," Time Warner spokesman Jeff Simmermon tells me, but like LINTV the company seems skeptical of negotiation success. "Time will tell," he says. Adding fuel to the fire, Simmermon points to claims that LINTV is censoring criticism of the company in their forums. LINTV, meanwhile, has been telling customers to get service elsewhere:This could be a broader problem at the tail end of this year, as a significant number of retransmission consent agreements are scheduled to expire before 2009.